CDG get points for the CDI

Yep, you guessed it, it's the 2010 Commitment to Development Index. Go ahead. See where your favourite country stacks up. 

The report has a fantastic breakdown of each rich country's strengths and weaknesses in supporting development through aid, trade, investment, migration, security, environment and technology. Point for comprehensive development indices!

Think Sweden might be a shining beacon of development assistance? Well, you would be right, as it scored highest overall. However, not surprisingly, in the technology category it scored solidly below average. Here's why: 

• Low tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 20)
• Offers patent-like proprietary rights to developers of data compilations, including those assembled from data in the public domain 
• Large share of government R&D expenditure on defense (1.0%; rank: 17)  
• Pushes to incorporate into bilateral free trade agreements "TRIPS-Plus" measures that restrict the flow of innovations to developing countries

While I can't get on board criticizing their subsidy policy regarding R&D (seems to be working!), their adherence to TRIPS-Plus is downright boneheaded. This policy program restricts WTO members to a prohibitive intellectual property rights regime and continues to do real damage to development.

(Also look how poorly Canada scores for environment! Why? Ahem:   1. High greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita (21.7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 21)  and  2. Poor compliance with mandatory reporting requirements under multilateral environmental agreements relating to biodiversity (rank: 18))

Point for fun-time graphs, and one for pretty country report graphics too!

CDG: 3, Tea Party: 0 (?)